Science

eBird transforms a global birding community’s passion for birds into critical data for research, conservation, and education. By building tools that engage the global birding community, eBird gathers unprecedented volumes of information on where and when birds occur in the world. Half a billion bird observations have been contributed so far. eBird collects ‘complete checklist‘ data, providing year-round information on all bird species at high spatial and temporal resolutions. When combined and analyzed appropriately, these data enable next generation species distribution models that provide full life cycle information about birds at relatively fine scales across broad spatial and temporal extents. These model results inform novel conservation actions, from site-specific information about the occurrence and abundance of birds, to looking at patterns of species abundance across continent-spanning flyways.

eBird data contribute to hundreds of conservation decisions and peer-reviewed papers, thousands of student projects, and help inform research worldwide. Applications range from ecological and ornithological research, to conservation application, to advancing research in the fields of socioeconomics, artificial intelligence, and computer science. Thanks to the contributions of eBirders everywhere, this growing database has become an unparalleled information resource on birds. If you have used eBird data as a core component of an analysis or as a core data set upon which conservation actions were taken, let us know by email, using the subject title ‘eBird Data Use.’

eBird data play an increasingly important and diverse role in the conservation domain. Conservation actions using eBird data range from research and monitoring to conservation planning, including tangible conservation actions such as site and habitat management, species management, habitat protection, and informing law and policy (Sullivan et al 2017).

eBird Abundance Models provide an unparalleled window into the full annual cycle of bird populations in the Western Hemisphere. These species distribution models have been specifically developed for eBird data by statisticians and researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

eBird transforms a global birding community’s passion for birds into critical data for research, conservation, and education. By building tools that engage the global birding community, eBird gathers unprecedented volumes of information on where and when birds occur in the world.